Ensuring health at the heart of climate change Advisory Opinion

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, concluded landmark hearings on Dec 13, 2024 that could fundamentally reshape the future of global health and human rights. The UN General Assembly had requested, by consensus, an Advisory Opinion from the world’s highest judicial body on states’ legal obligations to respond to climate change. The ICJ is expected to issue its opinion in 2025. Appearing at the ICJ, the Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and WHO Legal Counsel, Derek Walton, made clear that public health is the principal argument for climate action. Their submissions conveyed WHO’s core message that the climate crisis “is fundamentally a health crisis” and raises fundamental issues of equity. The WHO's intervention stressed the importance of public health science for understanding States' obligations for climate action and is momentous and exemplary. It may inspire other public health professionals to engage in legal mobilization on climate change. Together, public health experts and legal experts can ensure that full effect be given to the fundamental right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.